This hop is now closed. The winning comment was from Bonita on Amarilys Doria’s Blog. Thanks for hopping!

Hello, Friends! Welcome to the Heartfelt Creations February Alumni Hop! I’m here to share a Butterfly Medley Vintage Purple Roses Trifold Folio Tutorial with you. We have a lot of ground to cover, so grab a snack and a cuppa and let’s get started!

Vintage Purple Roses Trifold Folio Tutorial: First Look

Ultra Violet is Pantone’s 2018 Color of the Year, so I thought I’d celebrate that with this rich purple folio. I pulled papers from the beautiful Butterfly Medley Paper Collection and added a whole host of dies to create this 5″ x 7″ trifold folio. You’ll find a complete supply list at the end of this post.

You Tube Video Tour of the Album

I think it’s easier to understand how this folio comes together if you can see all the various mechanisms at work. So I’ve made a short YouTube Video Tour of the album for you to watch before we get started. I hope you enjoy!

Now we will work on creating the flap element on the right hand side of the album.

First trim two card front images. The one on the top measures 4.25″ x 3″. Mat this on a piece of 4.75″ x 3.25″ lavender cardstock. Glue the image to the mat, leaving a wide margin on the right hand side. Place this on your scoring tool, and score a line just to the right of the image. Fold to form a hinge. Glue the hinge to to top of the flap.

Then repeat this process with the next image. This time trim the image to measure 4.75″ x 3.5″. Mat on a larger piece of lavender cardstock as before. Score a hinge and glue to the flap.

This is what the flap page will look like. I lined the back side of my flaps with patterned paper from the Butterfly Medley Collection. Trim out the word “Bloom” from the paper collection, mat on cardstock and glue just the left hand edge in place to create a tuck spot.

Then score a 1/2″ hinge along the top edge of the image. Crease this and glue it to the center of the panel.

Now glue the Butterfly Medley panel you cut earlier in place so that it covers the hinge as seen in this photo.

Next, create a pocket by scoring 1/2″ margins on bottom, right and left hand sides of a 5 7/8″ x 2.5″ panel of paper. Fold the flaps to form a pocket. Use a circle punch to create a thumb hole. Glue in place.

Finally, fill the pocket with tags as seen here. Die cut the ticket and glue in place.

On With the Hop

Be sure to visit and comment on each blog in the hop. One comment from a mystery blog will be randomly chosen to win a $25 Heartfelt Creations Gift Certificate.

The hop runs from 8 AM EST on Friday, February 23rd through Monday, February 26th at 11:59 PM. Winner will be announced on the Heartfelt Creations Blog and Facebook page on Wednesday, February 28th, 2018. I’ll also contact the winner via e-mail and will post the winner’s name at the top of my blog at that time.

I hope I’ve shared some ideas, tips, and tricks that you can use in your own crafty adventures. If so,, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Hello, G45’ers! Did you have a favorite book when you were growing up? One that you read over and over and never tired of? For me, that book was Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I’ve lost count of the many times I got lost in the lives of the brave, loving and wise saga of the March family. (My favorite was Jo, of course!) So when Graphic 45 released the Little Women collection, I decided to create a big, big card to reflect the large role this book played in my life. This 8×8 Graphic 45 Easel Card Folio is truly an ode to Little Women.

How to Create a Graphic 45 Easel Card Folio

Easel cards look complicated, but they are actually very easy to create. There are several different ways to make them, and you can find lots of variations on Pinterest. This is how I created this 8″ square easel card:

First, create the card base. Because this card is so large, I worked with a 12″ x 18″ piece of black cardstock. You can purchase this large cardstock at Envelopes.com.

Now, cut the cardstock to measure 8″ wide x 16″ long.

Next, score it in half on the long side and fold to make a standard top fold card base.

Then score the bottom panel in half again at 4″ . Fold this flap in toward the fold. This creates the easel mechanism for the card.

You will build your card front on a separate piece of 8″ square black cardstock.

The final step is gluing the bottom half of the card front to the flap. Don’t glue above the fold or the easel mechanism won’t work.

Graphic 45 Easel Card Folio: The Details

This Staples Antique Metal Door Plate and Knob is the perfect accent for the Little Women collection. It fits beautifully with the vintage vibe of the pretty papers.

Die cut and mat an image from a 4×6 Ephemera card to create a stylish focal for your card front.

Tie a Shabby Chic Clock Key to a Staples ATC tag to create an interesting dimensional element on your card.

Turn an Antique Metal Door Pull upside down, then fill with flowers! This is such a fun way to add dimension to a design. Create a stopper for the easel card by backing a border strip with foam tape or waste chipboard. This way, the card can stand upright for display.

An Ode to Little Women Graphic 45 Easel Card Folio: A Peek at the Inside

The large format of this easel card provides you with the ability to add fun interactive elements to the interior. I’ve created some mini folios and pockets using ephemera cards, ATC tags and images from the cut apart page.

The ephemera cards in this collection are especially beautiful! Don’t be afraid to use the “B” sides! I’ve cut this 4″ x 6″ ephemera card down, then turned it into a pocket to house these decorated tags and a mini folio.

And see these decorative panels? They are more than just pretty pictures!

They open to reveal a spot for photos and hidden journaling. This would be such a great way to commemorate a special event!

I hope I’ve shared some tips, tricks and ideas that you can use in your own crafty adventures. If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

5 year Blogiversary Giveaway Winners!

Hello, Friends! Happy Tuesday! Today’s the big day when I reveal the names of the 5 Year Blogiversary Giveaway Winners! There are 4 winners in all. Once again I’d love to send every single one of you a thank you gift. And if postage fees were not so incredibly high, I’d put together more boxes and give away more goodies. Please know how deeply I appreciate each and every one of you! And now, without further ado, here are the winners!

International 5 Year Blogiversary Giveaway Winners!

Three of my very dear International followers will receive a copy of my On the Boardwalk Zig-Zag Album tutorial. I’ll also send along a link to a YouTube video tour so you can see the design in action. These are the lucky winners of that prize:

Susan Smit

Carol Edwards

Janine02

You should be able to use any collection with this tutorial. Just change out the papers! I’ll e-mail the PDF tutorial to you all today. Thanks so much for being on the journey with me!

5 Year Blogiversary Giveaway Grand Prize Winner

Now, for the name of the big winner of all that crafty swag! I put all the multiple entries from all the different social media platforms (including this blog) into the proverbial hat and drew out the following lucky winner:

Beverly Jordan

Congratulations, Beverly! I’ll be touching base with you via e-mail to get your mailing address information.

Thanks to everyone who commented, visited and shared an encouraging word. I look forward to this every year, as it gives me a chance to say thank you to each one of you for your friendship, encouragement and support. Y’all are the best!

Cheerio,

kathy

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Frilly and Funkie Saturday Showcase: How to Make a Shabby Chic Card with Prima Lavender

Hello, Friends! Happy Saturday! Just wanted to let you know that I’m up on the Frilly and Funkie Saturday Showcase today. You can learn how to make a Shabby Chic, Layered card using Prima’s Lavender collection. Here’s a sneak peek:

Hello, Friends! It’s time for another challenge over on the Frilly and Funkie blog. Autumn is our lovely hostess this go round, and she has issued a dare: Dare to Resist! With this challenge in mind, I’ve created a mini Discover Dragonfly Junk Journal for you today. We’ll take a look at it in just a moment, but first, let’s see what Autumn has to say;

Challenge Theme: Dare to Resist
Happy Valentine’s Day dear readers! For the next two weeks, as we break away from our Valentine creations, we’d love to see you incorporate a favorite resist technique in your vintage or shabby chic project. There are so many options, perhaps you will try something new. Whether it be gesso resist, Vaseline resist, alcohol resist, embossing resist, or watercolor resist, we dare you to resist!

Discover Dragonfly Junk Journal with an easy resist technique

I’m really not much of a mixed media girl. Paper is my jam. But this challenge reminded me that I can stamp, and I do like to get inky, and playing with techniques can be fun. Messy fun, but fun all the same. This started as a 4.75″ x 6.25″ gatefold card base .

So, this is the gatefold card that thought it should be a junk journal. We (the card and I) had quite a protracted argument about what it was going to be. But as you can see, the junk journal won the fight. Does that ever happen to you? You set out to make one thing, and you end up making something entirely different?

Discover Dragonfly Junk Journal: I Dared to Resist!

Here are the basic steps of my resist technique. It’s a basic emboss/resist with a Tim Holtz twist. I saw Tim demo this technique at CHA and instantly knew that I wanted to give it a try at home.

First, find a piece of Alcohol Ink Cardstock. And yes, it must be Alcohol Ink CS, or the twist won’t work!

Next, place the Alcohol Ink CS on the Stamp Platform, securing it with the magnets.

Now, position the dragonfly image from TH Classics #1 where you want it to be on the cardstock panel.

Then close the lid of the Stamp Platform and make sure the placement is correct.

Now, ink the stamp with Jet Black Archival Ink and stamp away! Repeat until the image looks as dark as you want it to be.

Tap (don’t drag or swish!) the stamped image in the inky puddles, drying between layers.

The Twist

Now here’s the best part of this technique, and it’s one I learned watching Tim. Get out your Distress Micro Glaze and gently twist a mini ink blending tool over the medium. Then use the blending tool to gently buff up the surface of the inky panel and watch the magic happen. The milky, oxidized appearance of the inks will disappear and all the gorgeous layers of color beneath will pop through. It’s like crafting magic!

Resist again!

The other resist techinque I used was on this quote band. I love to fill in the letters of the quote, but sometimes have a hard time with the process. I started wondering what would happen if I used the Distress Micro Glaze on the word band first. So I just lightly sponged it over the surface. Then I came back with Picked Raspberry Distress Paint and dabbed it over the top. The metal resisted the paint, but…it sunk right into the letters, which was what I was hoping would happen.

Details, details, details

N

Next I went to work making my flowers. First I die cut Tammy Tutterow’s Pinked Posies, Frayed Posies and Pinwheel Posies from the Wallflower paper collection. Then I used sponge daubers to add DOX to each petal layer. Next, I spritz, shaped and stacked. Finally, I punched holes in the center of each flower and added stamens. To add a little vintage shimmer, I sprayed each flower lightly with Tattered Angels Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist.

I also experimented with making my own Prills (those itty bitty bead looking critters) with mustard seeds and alcohol ink. It worked like a charm.

To finish the cover, I added some TH remnant rubs and a hinge clip.

Discover Dragonfly Junk Journal: A Peek Inside

Here’s where I really began to have fun. I gathered up a whole pile of TH ephemera, my paper dolls, remnant rubs, stickers and had a ball. I dug through my stash and found a whole pile of fabulous Wendy Vecchi sentiments that were perfect for the theme of my journal. And, I just added DOX to brighten up everything.

Once I embraced the idea of turning this card into a junk journal, everything just fell into place. I added flap pages and folded pages and flip pages. This is the very best kind of crafty adventure for me. I think these pictures will tell the story all on their own. Enjoy!

The things I like best about this Discover Dragonfly Junk Journal are the worn/distressed pages and the small size. It’s only about 1/4″ thick, so easy to toss into a suitcase and use on a trip. Plus, I had a blast making it. What do you like best about it?

Discover Dragonfly Junk Journal Video Tour

Because I find it easier to understand an interactive project when I can see it being used, I’ve prepared a short YouTube video tour for you. I hope you enjoy!

The Frilly and Funkie team will choose four favorite projects from your entries. Our favorite artist will be invited to join us as a Guest Designer at Frilly and Funkie. The next three winners will receive Top 3 badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

I can’t wait to see what you make!

Did I share some tips and tricks today that you can use in your own crafty adventures? If so,, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Happy Blogiversary to Me! 5 year Blogiversary Giveaway!

Hello, Friends! I’m late, I’m late for a very important date! With all the excitement of creating for and traveling to CHA, I completely forgot to celebrate my 5 year Blogiversary! That’s right, I started blogging on January 13, 2013. So I’m late for my 5 Year Blogiversary Giveaway! This is my annual opportunity to say thank you to my faithful followers for joining me on this crafty journey.

I’ve had loads of fun combing through The Closet of Shame looking for fun goodies that I think you all might enjoy adding to your crafty stash. So let’s take a peek at what’s up for grabs in this year’s Blogiversary Giveaway!

15 Retired Heartfelt Creations Cling Stamp Sets

To start with, I have a selection of retired Heartfelt Creations Cling Stamp Sets. Some of these have never been inked up, others have been gently used but still have a lot of life in them. A few have no fancy packaging, as they were items I received while serving on the Heartfelt Creations Design Team.

From the Sparkling Poinsettia Collection:

HCPC 3681 Sparkling Poinsettia Candle

HCPC 3682 Sparkling Poinsettia Swirl

HCPC 3683 Joy to the World

HCPC 3684 Sparkling Poinsettia Notes

Blazing Poppy Collection

HCPC 3675 Poppy Corner and Border

HCPC 3676 Blazing Poppy Vase

HCPC 3677 Blazing Poppy Stems

HCPC Blazing Poppy Fillers

From the Cascading Fuchsia Collection

HCPC 3669 Vining Fuchsia

HCPC 3670 Fuchsia Spray

HCPC 3671 Fuchsia Clusters

HCPC 3672 Fuchsia Bouquet

Miscellaneous Stamp Sets

HCPC 3667 from Everyday Heroes Collection- You Inspire ME

HCPC 3531 High Seas Set from Balmy Breeze

HCPC 3527 Seascape Cling Stamp Set

Crafty Secrets Papers and HOTP Album

As many of you know, I was on the Crafty Secrets design team for quite a while. While cleaning out the closet, I found a big stack of beautiful digital papers that I had printed off while serving on the team. Some of these are printed as 8×8 images, and some are 8×10. There are 75 different pattern and image papers, all printed in high resolution. I also found a 6″ x 12 pad of the Crafty Secrets Pastels papers. These would be great to use for card making, junkque journaling or even in mixed media. I added in this 8×8 Mini album so you can have fun with that, too!

Crafty Secrets Creative Scraps, Stickers and Creative Cuts

These Creative Scraps from Crafty Secrets are so much fun to use when making cards and tags. I added in some cute sticker sheet, Vintage Cuts and 3 little Journal Notes and Image pads. These have always been a favorite!

Phew! If there’s any extra space left in the mailing box, I’ll add in some surprise goodies, too.

5 Year Blogiversary Giveaway Rules

Due to high international postage rates, this giveaway is only open to addresses in the contiguous US. I wish I could afford to ship internationally, but the postage rates are simply too rich for my blood.

I will, however, pick 3 international followers to receive a PDF Tutorial for my On the Boardwalk Mini Album. I can e-mail that to you!

You must be a follower of my blog to win.

Indicate in your comment that you are an international or a US follower so I know which prize pool to place you in.

You must comment on this blog post before 11:59PM EST Sunday, February 18th, 2018.

One US winner will be randomly chosen to win all the goodies seen here. I’ll post the name of the winner at the top of this blog post, and announce the winner on my Kathy by Design Facebook Page on Tuesday, February 20th. Three international winners will also be randomly chosen to win a PDF Tutorial. I will also contact the winners via e-mail. They will then have 72 hours to respond or I will choose an alternate winner.

More Ways to Win

If you’d like more chances to win, here are some ways to earn additional entries:

I’m posting this giveaway on my Facebook page. Comment there and become a follower for an additional chance to win.

Share this giveaway with your friends on Facebook and tag @KathybyDesign in the post. That’s another entry!

Thank You, and a Brief History

When I started this blog in 2013, I didn’t even know what I was doing. I just felt an inner nudge that said, “Start that blog!” I look back at those early posts and shudder at my meager abilities. My photography was terrible, my projects were a hot mess, and I stumbled through every single post.

Within 3 months of making my first blog post, I received a notification from Heartfelt Creations that they were holding a design team audition. I decided to go for it, mostly as a sort of training exercise. I thought it would be good practice to put myself out there and reach for something that I felt was beyond me.

To my great surprise, I made it past the first round auditions, and then the finals and found myself a member of a very prestigious and well-loved design team. I nearly fell out of my chair when I was notified! Heartfelt Creations will always hold a very special place in my heart because they gave me a chance when no one else would.

Being on that team caused me to grow as an artist…and it also opened other doors. I began to design for the Crafty Secrets team…and then Really Reasonable Ribbon…..and I started trying out for Graphic 45. I began to play in online challenges, and ended up being invited to join the lovely artists on the Frilly and Funkie Design team for The Funkie Junkie Boutique. What a huge honor!

After 3 heroic efforts, I finally won that brass ring and found a spot on the Graphic 45 Design team. About a year after that, I was asked to join my beloved Authentique Paper team.

All the while, behind the scenes I have been working hard to grow in my art, improve the quality of my photos and hone my blogging skills. I’ve had to learn my way around social media, too. And the biggest challenge of all was learning how to shoot and edit YouTube videos. I find myself in a constant learning curve, and as soon as I master one new thing, there’s another one to take on!

For those of you who think I’m lucky, I would agree…but I would also say, “luck without hard work won’t take you very far!”

Finally, I want to thank each and every one of you, especially those who have been with me from the early days of this blog. You have endured my amateur creations and photos. You have been so generous with your kind comments and encouraging words. You’ve kept me motivated and inspired to keep learning and keep improving. I am so humbled by your friendship and thrilled to have you on the journey with me. Thank you.

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Authentique Refreshed Hello Spring Folio and Card Tutorial

Hello, Friends! Winter just seems to drag on and on and on, doesn’t it? The cold weather and grey skies kind of had me a little bit down, so I decided to make it be springtime in my studio. I pulled out some gorgeous spring papers and went to work on this Authentique Hello Spring Folio and Card Tutorial. Suddenly, it was springtime: little umbrellas, sweet songbirds, raindrops, children dancing in the rain and…whoosh! Those wintertime blues were banished!

Hello, Spring, indeed! How can you be sad when you are working with a cutie pie image like this? Designing this 5″ square folio was pure joy, I tell you!

Authentique Refreshed Hello Spring Folio: The details

Create the folio base by joining together three 11″ x 5″ strips of navy blue cardstock. I use Scor-tape for this, but you can use whatever strong adhesive you prefer.

Once the strips are all neatly joined, simply score at 5″ and again at 5.25″ on the long side of your very long paper strip. Once you get to the end, you will have a leftover piece that is not 5″ wide. This will be come the flap. Then just simply crease all your score lines and fold the panels up to form this lovely little booklet. I used a Spellbinder’s Label 8 Die to create my shaped flap, but that is optional.

Authentique Refreshed Hello Spring Folio: A Peek Inside

Decorating the inside of the album is equally simple. Cut 4 7/8″ squares from the Refreshed 6×6 Bundle pack to line each panel. Then decorate with stickers and journal cards from the 12×12 collection pack. If you back the stickers with cardstock, they make great tags like the ones tied onto my ribbon closure. And they also make great tuck spots like the one seen here.

You can use the Spellbinder’s Labels 8 Die to create shaped photo mounts within the album.

Add flaps to lift and waterfall features to flip, and you’ve got yourself one mighty cute little springtime folio!

Of course, I had to add pockets! It just wouldn’t be a Kathy by Design project without pockets! These hold 4″ square photo mounts with plenty of room for more photos. If you save the leftover pieces from lining the pages, you’ll find they are the perfect size and width for a pocket. So nothing goes to waste! How great is that?

Here’s another matted sticker from the 12×12 Collection pack. Backed with cardstock, it becomes the perfect tuck spot for these sweet little images from the 6×6 Bundle pack.

This larger waterfall feature will easily hold 4″ square photos. As always, I only glue the edge of images so that photos can be slipped behind.

It’s also really easy to turn a journal card from the 12×12 collection pack into a pocket. Just glue down three sides and you’ve got a perfect little spot to tuck a tag.

These little file folders are one of my favorite elements. To make them, simply fold a piece of cardstock in half, then add the sticker to the front. Trim around the front edge, then round the back corners. Now you have a darling little spot for hidden journaling.

Spring Showers Greeting Card

I was feeling so “Refreshed” I kept right on playing. This 5″ x 7″ top fold greeting card is made with the 12×12 Collection Kit.

Just look at these darling little girls playing with their umbrellas! My heart melts!

Inside, I’ve created lots of fun little interactive elements.

Turn another cut apart image into a pocket…only this time, make it a double! I did this by gluing 3 sides of the card onto a cardstock pocket. Now you can tuck in a tea bag AND a little wallet.

Stuff the wallet with a trio of sweet spring tags made with cut apart images from the 6×6 bundle. Yes, friends…I was having FUN!

The bottom pocket holds a decorated honey stick and a little chocolate treat tucked into a sweet miniature envelope. I added a blank cardstock panel with room to write a personal greeting.

Authentique Refreshed Hello Spring Folio YouTube tour

I thought you might like to see all the flips, flaps and folds in action, so I filmed a quick YouTube video tour for you. I’ll also include a complete supply list below for your convenience.

You’ll also find a video showing you how to put the front of the card together along with lots of tips and tricks that you can use in your own crafty adventures.

I hope this post has left you feeling “Refreshed.” If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.